


Castletown Context

by aerum (CatReginae)



Series: Aerum's LinkedUniverse Oneshots [3]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Crossover, Gen, I don't know the plot, Legend of Zelda AU, Linked Universe, LinkedUniverse, More angst, No Beta, Since you people like it so much, Takes Place in Twilight's Hyrule, Vaguely Based on a Tumblr Post, probably not canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:00:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatReginae/pseuds/aerum
Summary: Wild gets to see what Castletown should be like, giving him some much needed context on his Castletown.





	Castletown Context

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic is part of the LinkedUniverse AU, which is made by @jojo56830 on tumblr. If you haven't checked it out already you can do so [here!](https://linkeduniverse.tumblr.com/) I highly recommend it!
> 
> On another note, this is not based off anything specific. The major plot beats of LinkedUniverse has yet to be revealed, so I took some liberties on this. Here, the others do know that Time could well, travel through Time. I figured it would work better this way!

“Here it is,” Twilight announced as they crossed a wooden bridge that led up to a stone wall. Two heavy wooden doors separated the town from the rest of the fields, but Twilight was able to push them open easily enough, letting the other eight inside. Wild pulled up his hood before stepping inside, hiding the worst of the scarring on his face. Usually, he wasn't too bothered by the pitying or the awed looks he got from strangers, but something about being close to Castletown was already starting to make him antsy, and the hood gave him some comfort.

“What's the plan?” 'Rule asked. 

“We'll meet at the fountain in the centre at sundown, and we can go to the inn after that. We do have a few hours to kill, so you guys can do whatever you want. Within reason,” Twilight said, adding the last bit quickly while looking between 'Rule and Wild. 

Wind and 'Rule disappeared almost instantly, rushing off in different directions. 

“Aren't they going to get lost?” Sky asked with a frown. 

“It's hard to get lost here,” Twilight responded. “As long as they don't leave the walls, we should be able to round them up easily enough if they don't meet us at the fountain. I know this place like the back of my hand.” 

“We know who's going to go look for them when they don't show up then,” Legends mumbled. “Anyway, I'm going to go look for some supplies if anybody wants to help.” 

“I'll go,” Sky answered, joining Legends said. 

The group more or less dissolved afterwards. Sky and Legends disappeared, Twilight and Time disappeared together, Captain broke off in search of a place to drink, and Four left to explore once Wild said he would be fine on his own. He didn't actually feel quite fine, but he wanted a chance to explore alone, to get that bottom of the antsy feeling that bothered him at the doors. 

The first thing that struck him about Castletown was how crowded it was. The back alleys were much emptier, but there wasn't a place where he was completely alone. Every road had somebody on it. The marketplace was the worst, and he wasn't sure how anybody could move from stall to stall without bumping into somebody else. He was sure that once upon a time, he went to places that were just as crowded, just as busy, but those memories were gone. There was simply nothing like Castletown in his Hyrule currently.

Then everything clicked into place. 

There was no new memory, nothing to fill in the gaps. He still couldn't remember how the buildings looked, or any of the faces he used to know, or if there was a favourite place of his to visit. The most he could remember were the fires when he and Zelda first tried to go back to Castletown. Looking around Twilight's Castletown gave him some much needed context though. He couldn't remember Castletown, but now he had an idea of what it could have been like, what it should have been like. It should have been bursting with people living their lives. 

Instead, his Castletown was empty, with only the whirling and humming that came from the guardians, the gurgling of the malice, and the wind breaking the silence. Hardly any of it remained, save for some walls and structures that might have been watch towers. There wasn't anything left that resembled a place that people would have lived in. It remained that way too, even with Calamity Ganon and the malice gone. 

Was he the only one who knew a Castletown in ruins? 

Wild had to leave. He didn't wander far, just out of the first set of doors he saw, and sat down on the steps, where he finally felt alone for the first time since they've entered Twilight's Hyrule. He wanted to scream and cry at the same time, but ended up just staying quiet, just in case somebody came by. On one hand, he could kind of see where Time's cynicism came from. A lot of people innocent people died because of some stupid, reoccurring destiny, a destiny that he and Zelda were clearly not ready for, despite their best efforts. 

But he was also mourning for those citizens too. It was only now that he could fully appreciate the magnitude of what was lost. It wasn't the first time the considered the lives lost, nor was it the first time he got upset or even angry on their behalf, but it was the first time he felt truly overwhelmed by it.

He didn't know how long he sat there. It was long enough that he could see a storm beginning to roll in. The sky was clear when they arrived, but now they were quickly darkening, pushed forward by a wind that blew the hood off of his head. He didn't bother to put the hood back up. 

“So this is where you've been.” 

Wild jumped at the voice, but quickly settled when he registered the fact that it just Time behind him. Time slowly settled beside him, his armour clinking softly as he did so. 

“Was it another memory?” he asked, keeping his voice soft and gentle. Wild had the feeling that maybe Time thought he would bolt if he spoke too loudly, but he wasn't sure if he could run even if he wanted to. 

“No, not exactly.” Wild hesitated to say more. It wasn't that he didn't want to say anything, he actually felt like he could talk to Time about his feelings, he just didn't know how to explain them. Time waited patiently for him to find the words though. “The Castletown where I come from is in ruins, and I don't remember much of how it was before. Seeing what this place is like though... I got a sense of what it might have been like. Now I have a better idea of how many people died when the Calamity returned.” 

“I think understand a little bit of how that feels. Have you ever heard of ReDeads?”

Wild shook his head. 

“They're basically hostile corpses. They are like stalfos, though. They paralyze you and try to attack you when you can't move a muscle, but since they're rotting, they don't move quickly. After my seven year sleep, Castletown was full of them, and they were the first things I saw when I left the temple. Castletown was deserted, save for the ReDeads and a poe collector on the edge of town who said that the destruction was good for business.”

Wild shook his head. “But you went back in time for good after that, right? At least you could do something. When the Calamity returned, Zelda and I were away. She was trying to unlock her sealing power when it happened. Castletown was already in flames when we returned.” Sometimes, he wondered if things would have been different if he and Zelda were actually there at the time. Would Hyrule have been doomed either way? 

“At least you aren't blaming yourself this time,” Time said quietly. “The most you can do is look to the future. I know that's easier said than done. It's all too easy to think about how you could have done something better, if only you knew what you know now. I could go back in time, but I couldn't fix everything. I couldn't make everybody happy. Sometimes, you have to go out of your way to remind yourself that you did the best that you could do with the information you had at the time. Sometimes, Malon has to remind me of that.”

Wild didn't say anything. He simply let the words sink in. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that he wasn't exactly alone. Their adventures were all different, and he was the only one with an incomplete memories, but he wasn't the only who experienced hardship or loss. His wounds seemed to be fresher, so they stung more, but they all had something. Even the youngest of them has been through a lot, yet managed to come out of it all with a smile on his face, and wasn't scared to tell him a thing or too.

The future, huh? 

“Let's get going. We have a storm to beat,” Time mumbled, breaking Wild out of his thoughts. 

Wild looked up at the sky. The sky was getting a lot darker, and he could hear rumbling in the distance. Wild was used to rain, but he never did like being out in a thunderstorm. He nodded eagerly and followed Time inside the walls.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, Waslala, it isn't exactly what you asked for, but hopefully this is still angsty enough for you!


End file.
